365 stories of personal giving

Day 190 – Tina

Two quick updates! I have finally got some video together from my first delivery of items for Tommy from Day 155. You can see the video here. He was so thankful! Thanks to all who continue to send items for those on the Lend a Hand list. Also, I recovered some video for Alex on Day 180 and posted it.

On Day 190, I went out to Dulles to meet up with my friend Alex for coffee. He did his MBA at Vanderbilt with some friends of mine a few years ago and had a long layover at the airport on his way back from the west coast to Europe. It was a short visit, but always good to catch up with old friends. He keeps telling me that I should come to see him in Riga, Latvia…it would be fun and interesting to see how Latvians respond to the Year of Giving!

Later I found myself sitting in Tina’s chair at the Hair Cuttery at Connecticut and R in NW. I have had this idea before to give my $10 to the person that cuts my hair. Since you sit there and talk to them for a good while, I have always thought that they make for a perfect person to meet and give $10 to. I have tried a few times, Day 60 for example, but have not been successful yet.

Today I would change that streak. I asked Tina if she would be a part of the Year of Giving. “I think I have heard of this. Are you that guy?” This is always a weird moment. Part of me is excited when people have heard of the Year of Giving but another part of me is somehow shy to affirm their suspicion. A bit sheepishly I told her, “Yeah, I’m the guy.”

I wasn’t sure until the end of my hair cut when she actually took my $10 if she would participate or not. She seemed a bit hesitant the entire time, but I did learn a little bit about her…but not much. She seems to be a pretty private person.

Photo: Reed

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she moved here some 30+ years ago after meeting an American man. She has been working at the Dupont Hair Cuttery for about 15 years. By the way, if you live downtown this is one of the most economical places to get your hair cut. For men, cuts are $18. Depending on where you live, this might not sound like a good deal, but almost everywhere else here charges more than $30. I have always had good experiences there and I always get a different person.

I asked her what was the craziest hair cut she has ever given. Wouldn’t you know it, she said the “M” word….yeah, I won’t write the word, I already get hundreds of people every day coming to my website looking for this type of hairstyle. See this post/comments to learn more about this odd relationship the website has with people surfing for these kinds of haircuts.

Tina didn’t tell me much more (and I definitely wasn’t allowed to take her picture!) We talked about the weather and trivial things like that. I did learn that she likes Sci-Fi movies and has always wondered if there was intelligent life in another universe. I believe that there is.

She finished up, I gave her the $10 which she plans to pass along, paid the bill, tipped her and went on my way.

A question for you readers. I am writing an article about giving and whether intentions matter. What do you think? Does it matter what someone’s intentions are when they practice giving? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Related

4 Responses

That’s an interesting question, Reed. I think that people give for different reasons. While some reasons are more inspiring than others, I think it’s worthwhile if people benefit from it. There was a “Friends” episode about this, actually. I don’t remember the details, but I think that the general gist was that no giving could ever be selfless, because there is a sense of personal gratification. One character challenged another to do a good deed that was not at least somewhat selfish. Perhaps it’s true that giving is not entirely selfless. But if this is what people choose to do in order to feel selfish or good about themselves, right on.

You ask ,”Does it matter what someone’s intentions are when they practice giving?”

Intention can be good or bad. The highway to hell is paved with good intentions.
Good intentions aren’t necessarily bad. But the choices we make to accomplish our intentions, render the result good or bad.

Make a donation

I gave $10 every day for a year. Would you make a $10 donation (that's less than 3 cents a day!) today to help those in need that I have met through the Year of Giving. You will get updates on how your donation is used.